Critically evaluate the role counseling and psychotherapy theory and Essay

Critically evaluate the role counseling and psychotherapy theory and practice in the application of adventure therapy - Essay Example It is important to note the appropriate role and use of counseling in the context of society and in relation to abnormal psychology. For example, the counselor is primarily dealing with normal, functioning children and adults that may at some point during their life develop psychological or emotional problems with which they benefit from personal and professional assistance. Generally, between 5% to 10% of the population at any time can be expected to display the signs and symptoms of major mental illness as defined in abnormal psychology, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, manias, psychosis, etc., though less than 1% will require clinical hospitalization. (NIMH, 2008, See: Appendix) This leaves counseling as a profession tasked with first separating cases of abnormal psychology from problems of normal development of individuals, and secondly, assisting in the provision of effective treatment to the individuals who are seeking counseling. It is in this context that Adventure T herapy should be understood, as well as its application, for there may be human development problems that are caused by the individual’s relation to modern society that can better be solved by treatments fostering social relationships and exercise activities as opposed to pharmaceuticals or institutionalization. Nevertheless, there may also be instances where a combination of medication and Adventure Therapy can also assist in the treatment of those afflicted with psychological problems and mental illness. Creating the ability to distinguish the causes and treatments for patients is an important aspect of training that the counselor must undertake, including research in a multiplicity of methods and a willingness to experiment in finding the treatment that best suits the unique nature of every individual and effectively promotes positive mental health recoveries. The life of an individual can be viewed on a continuum of functionality related to self-realization with normality at the center, functioning at the highest levels of individual mental and physical operations at one extreme, and the psychoses and neuroses of severe mental illness or insanity at the other extreme. The counselor can expect the range of behavior for most people to stay within the realm of normal operations on usual occasions, straying into psychological crisis through challenges, problems, and obstacles in life or relationship issues that occasionally need to be addressed by the individual. Viewing the counselor’s office as a mixture between a general practitioner’s office and an emergency room highlights the manner that the counselor must prepare for all of the contingencies of not only mental illness, but also for mental health, in the population he or she is tasked with serving. Counseling in this regard can be seen as a tool to help maintain or restore normalcy to individuals based upon their own self-definition of importance and accepted societal standards of fu nctioning. In being able to distinguish between the critical and clinical symptoms of severe mental illness and the factors that are required to build a stronger sense of well-being and mental health, the counselor can begin to serve the diversity of needs that he or she will encounter within a given population, as well as to understand some of the causes that lead people to psycho-spiritual crisis and life